Painless
by Fatal-fame
Summary: Luke was left alone in Yulia City with no one to comfort him. So when he awoke he was given an opportunity, one that he grabbed on to with both hands. What will the world do when the replica refuses to fight people? When the replica creates his facade against life? When he gets a Persona? TotA Persona 3 crossover. Violence and language. Some bashing but I will will try to avoid it.
1. Figure it out

**Fatal-Fame here with a new story.**

 **This is the Abyss/persona 3 crossover.**

 **I changed some things from the sample, which I hope you will enjoy.**

 **Fatal-fame does not own any copyrighted material in this fic. This is for entertainment purposes only, not for profit.**

Painless.

Ch.1 Figure it Out.

Yulia city, Asch and Luke's connection.

It was strange.

Luke was in a body, saw what the body saw, felt what the body felt.

And yet he had no control over this body.

He couldn't do anything with it and it scared him.

He was forced to endure what Asch endured.

He was forced to wield a sword in his right hand, use fonic artes, and just do things he wouldn't do.

There was also the fact that he couldn't really talk to anyone.

It never really occurred to him how much human contact meant to him.

Hell, he would talk to Arietta if he could. Even if she tried to kill him.

Just so that he could talk to someone who didn't insult him every time they could. (He was fairly sure she wouldn't insult him for no good reason(Killing someone's mother counts as a good reason), unlike her co-generals.)

But the worst was when he was truly alone.

In the dead of night when everyone was asleep, including Asch.

Luke tried to sleep, he really did. But he never truly felt tired.

It was probably because his body was asleep.

So Luke stayed up.

And thought.

Now thinking is not a bad thing by itself.

However when one has a lot of time to think, one tends to go down the darkest road possible.

This isn't always what happens, some are able to figure things out and learn how to better themselves.

But, for Luke it was the beginning of his journey.

The journey of life.

And death.

And the meaning of both.

The journey that begins now.

'Well, here I am again.' Luke thought as he sat in the endless dark. He gave up trying to wander a long time ago, as all there was was the dark. The only real light came from him and Asch, who was currently asleep.

'I wish I had something to do other than sit around.' Luke sighed as he cupped his cheek. He once tried to get some sword practice in, but he couldn't draw his sword.

'I guess it's because it's not actually there.' Luke figured, letting out another sigh.

One of the things Asch asked (more like told him to do) was to figure things out.

So he tried to figure things out.

And the result was less than pleasing for the young redhead.

'I was sent to Akzeriuth to help.' Luke thought. 'Yet, I had no real training or even a guideline.'

'And did they really think people would just leave there homes because a seventeen year old was sent there.' Luke continued his train of thought. 'Sure the Commandant had been there, but I was still the ambassador, the "Leader" of the group.'

'Sure the score said I was the person for the job, but still.' Luke moved so he was leaning on his other hand. 'You would think that people would actually try to give me the knowledge on what that job might entail.'

'And even if I evacuated every person in Akzeriuth, where would I go from there?' Luke questioned. 'All we had was a seventeen year old swordsman, his servant, the princess from Kimlasca, a Malkuth colonel, an oracle soldier, a fon master guardian, and the fon master himself. Were we supposed to evacuate people one at a time or something? There was no way we could get everyone out of the town safe and sound.'

'Unless I wasn't supposed to evacuate anyone.' Luke thought as his eyes widened. 'The first part of the score said the light of the sacred flames was to bring his people to the miner city. That translated into me and any other people I was with.'

'Master Van said that I would bring war to the Rugnica Plains by turning power into calamity and be a weapon of Kimlasca. So if hyperresonance is the power, then the calamity was Akzeriuth's fall.' Luke brought his other hand to his face. 'But what would be gained from Akzeriuth's destruction?'

'So I know that Master Van wanted Akzeriuth destroyed, but why?' Luke grabbed both sides of his head. 'What is there to gain from destruction?'

'Well, there is a war.' Luke thought. 'If Akzeriuth was destroyed then a war is sure to break out. But who benefits from destruction?'

'Unless you are sure to win.' Luke's eyes widened. 'Maybe uncle sent me to Akzeriuth to destroy it, so there could be a war he would win.'

'Unless uncle didn't know.' Luke crossed his arms. 'They could have been given the stone as I heard it, missing the part about me destroying Akzeriuth.'

'Mohs' might have known, as he was trying to start a war.' Luke closed his eyes in concentration. 'That would mean Mohs' and Master Van were working together.'

"Dammit!" He yelled out as he jumped to his feet. "How am I supposed to figure this out if I don't know most of the details!"

Luke felt something behind him, which really didn't shock him much, as Asch usually yelled at him for waking him.

But to his surprise the person in front of him was not his original, but a brown hair female.

"Tear?" He asked quietly. He could see she was in front of him, but he felt something off about her.

"What's wrong, Luke?" Tear asked him as she looked at him with glowing yellow eyes. "Are you scared?"

"Wha?" Luke replied as he took a step back.

"Yeah, Luke." Guy spoke up to his right, his eyes also glowing gold. "Are you afraid?"

"Of what?" He asked in return, only to turn to another voice.

"Death!" Natalia exclaimed as she grinned at him with as her eyes glowed. "Are you scared of death?"

"Death?" Luke repeated, as he took another step back.

"C'mon Luke." Anises voice rang out. "Dying isn't that hard."

"I don't wanna die..." Luke said quietly.

"It seems he needs some help." Jade spoke up from his other side.

"I don't wanna die." Luke repeated, his voice gaining volume.

"It's easy as one, two, three." Ion appeared, his eyes also glowing yellow.

"I don't wanna die!" Luke nearly shouted as he backed up.

Suddenly the place started to shake, causing Luke to lose his footing. He stared in fright as a hole was ripped through the black void. A giant, black figure quickly clawed it's way in from outside the hole. Luke stared at it's white mask as it raised the sword it was carrying.

"I don't wanna die!" Luke nearly shouted. The giant brought it's sword down.

"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

Luke suddenly shot up from the bed he was on, his breathing erratic.

"What the hell was that?" Luke asked nobody as he got to his feet. He started to wobble as he moved towards the stairs.

"Air." He gasped out. "I need some air." Luke muttered to himself as he stumbled down the stairs. He moved through the door to the outside. Even though the sky was covered and the miasma was everywhere, he felt a bit better out in the open.

'What the hell was that...thing!?' Luke thought in a panic as he replayed the memory. The mask, the figure and the sword kept flashing before his eyes.

Next thing he knew he was bent over the railing, throwing up his insides.

He stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just leaning over the edge and emptying his stomach, when a hand started to rub his back.

After a half a minute, Luke managed to pull himself up. He wiped his mouth with his hand as he looked at the person the hand originated.

He stared at the elder man, trying to remember where he had seen him.

"Mayor Teodoro?" Luke asked as he tried to keep down his nausea. The man nodded to the in response.

"Is it all out?" The older man asked softly, to which Luke nodded.

"Yeah, I think so." The redhead replied as he heaved a little bit.

"Come inside." He told Luke as he walked the boy inside. The elder man quickly got out a teapot.

"Are you alright?" The elder asked him as they waited for the tea to heat up. Luke nodded his positively, but didn't say anything.

"We haven't been properly introduced." The man realized as he held out his hand. "I am Mayor Teodoro, but I see you already know that."

"Luke." The replica replied as he shook the man's hand. He quickly pulled back and crossed his arms around himself, as if trying to hug himself. The man noticed that the boy was shaking and looked over at the teapot. He noticed it was done and pulled out two cups. He filled them both and handed one to Luke, who accepted it without a word.

"It will help you relax and ease your stomach." The older man told him. Luke nodded again and took a small sip. As the liquid slid down his throat he felt a little better. But he couldn't tell if it was because of the tea or the heat.

"Are you ill?" Teodoro asked, to which Luke just shook his head.

"No, just…" Luke wasn't completely sure what that was. "A nightmare."

"Not many people vomit from a nightmare, Luke." The man replied.

"I just don't know what else to call it." Luke admitted, for once not bothered by his own lack of knowledge. He took another sip of the tea and let out a breath that seemed to deflate him.

"Well, fear does make people do unpredictable things." The man replied. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Are you sure you have time?" Luke asked, he was fairly sure the man would have responsibilities that didn't involve listening to a teenager talk about their dreams.

"I was just getting heading back here." The man replied. "It's a late night tonight, so I'll be heading into work later than usual tomorrow."

"If you say so." Luke replied. He took a deep breath and told the elder man what he saw.

"I was alone for who knows how long." He started. "Then I was surrounded by my fri- old group, but all of their eyes were glowing yellow."

"They asked me if I was afraid of death. Which I told them I didn't want to die." Luke shuddered a bit. "Then this giant monster thing crawled into where I was. It tore a hole through the darkness and just went through. It raised a giant blade and swung it at me. Then I woke up." Luke finished, not completely sure how he felt about telling the man in front of him.

On one hand he felt better just by getting it off his chest, yet he just told all of what happened to a stranger.

So he just stared at the mayor and waited for his reaction.

The mayor brought up a hand in thought. He stroked his beard for a few seconds in thought before coming up with an answer.

"Perhaps you have brushed death so many times that you realize your own mortality." The man replied. Luke looked confused at the reasoning, but then it started to make sense.

'With the fall of Akzeriuth, my battle with Asch and all the fighting I've had to do.' Luke thought. 'After facing death after death, I guess I just understand how easy it is to die.'

"Maybe." Luke replied quietly.

"And why Tear and the others were there…" The mayor thought for a second. "Perhaps they are what you consider death itself." Luke face became confused. "When you fought and killed, you noticed they never seemed bothered by it?" Luke nodded again.

"Then you may subconsciously feel as though they are death themselves, monster that just kill for no reason." He finished.

Luke blinked in shock at the assessment. Sure he knew that they didn't show it, but they had to feel bad about the people they killed.

...right?

"Maybe." Luke replied quietly. He stared down at the cup in front him, watching the tea ripple as he lightly shook it.

"While we are on the subject." Luke took a breath. "I would like to apologize for Akzeriuth."

"I see." The elder man responded. "While that is a noble thing to do, there is no reason to apologize."

"What?" Luke asked, more out of shock than anything else.

"Akzeriuth's fall was written in the score. It was destroyed because it was meant too."

"It was written." Luke repeated. "I heard the first part, about me going there. But I wasn't sure of the rest."

"It's not a surprise." The mayor gave him a small nod. "Most people do not react well with a score of death."

"Well, nobody wants to die." Luke contended. To which teodoro looked at him in surprise.

"From one coming from the outer lands, that is a strange thing to hear." Teodoro replied. "A calm and orderly life is one of those who follow the score."

"That still doesn't mean anyone wants to die." Luke repeated. "Just because the score says the people are going to die doesn't mean that the people are okay with it."

"And that's why the closed score is only known by Maestro's or higher." The balding man replied. "If the people knew that what awaited them was destruction, mass panic would break out."

Luke sat for a minute, trying to think of a way to respond.

"What did the score about Akzeriuth say?" Luke asked. Even if he couldn't win this argument, it may be better to know what it had said. The older man closed his eyes in thought.

"N.D 2018. The young scion of Lorelei's power will bring his people to the miner's city. There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon to Kimlasca, destroying himself and the city. Thereafter, the land of Rugnica will be enveloped in war, and Malkuth will lose territory. Kimlasca-Lanvaldear will thrive, and this shall lead to unprecedented prosperity." The man recited from his memory. Luke started to think about what had just been said and what he knew.

'From what I got out of that, everything I thought about was true.' Luke thought. 'I was sent to Akzeriuth to destroy it and start a war.'

'That still leaves the question of did uncle know?'

"Was it possible that unc-King Ingobert knew?" Luke said, catching himself to make his question clearer. Teodoro once again looked thoughtful at the question.

"It's possible he may not have been aware." The man answered. "But it is more likely that he did know." Luke was about to respond, when a thought hit him.

"The score said that I would be destroyed with Akzeriuth, right?" Luke asked. "So that means the only death that we can be assured was supposed to be my own, correct?" The mayor frowned as he raised a hand to his chin.

"I suppose that is true." The man replied as he kept rubbing his chin.

"Then that means the people died for nothing!" Luke exclaimed. "If my death was the only one predetermined, then telling them about the score wouldn't have done any harm."

"That… might be true." Teodoro acknowledged. "However, there is no point in questioning it now." Luke gritted his teeth, but nodded. He looked down at his cup, only to find it nearly empty.

'I must have been taking sips without noticing.' Luke realized as he looked into it. He was about to raise it to finish it off, when something in the bottom caught his eye.

It was tea leaves that had made their way into his drink. Although unassuming by themselves the shape they made stopped him.

It seemed to remind him of a skull, which bothered him slightly.

'A skull has always been a mark of death.' He thought suddenly. He had heard of reading tea leaves before, but he never really gave it much thought.

'Maybe I'm just over thinking this.' Luke thought as he tried to relax. 'I don't know how to read tea leaves, it's just me blowing something out of proportion.' He still couldn't shake the feeling of forbearance though.

But it did remind him of a crucial question.

"So…" The redhead started, not sure how to ask. "Are you going to kill me?" He decided to ask out right. The man looked shocked at the question.

"I'm sorry?" The elder asked him, not entirely sure he had heard the question correctly. The boy surely couldn't mean…

"The score said I would destroy myself and the miner's city." Luke shrugged. "Yet here I am, not destroyed."

"I thought you said you didn't want to die?" The mayor asked him, not sure why the replica would change his position on the issue.

"If the score leads to prosperity and my being alive is against the score." Luke answered. "Then shouldn't my death be considered a priority?"

"Well, that is true" The mayor acknowledged. "However the other you was born the "Light of the Sacred Flames." You were not."

"Yet, he was not destroyed, nor was I." Luke countered. Teodoro raised his hand in thought again.

"I would say that is wrong and right." The elder man looked directly into Luke's eyes. "Before Tear left, what do you think she told me?" Luke looked pensive for a second.

"She probably called me arrogant and how I'm childish for not taking responsibility." She hadn't said anything while he was under Asch's control. But he clearly remembered her comment on the Tartarus.

And the way she took Mieu.

"You are mostly right." The man replied. "However, you are none of those things." To the red heads confused look, he elaborated.

"From when I brought you here to now, you have not acted arrogant in any way. You apologized for your actions. She also said you never try to think for yourself, yet you have proven here that you do." Luke still looked confused, but seemed to understand him. "There are more than one way for someone to be destroyed, Luke. You can destroy their body, their mind and."

"Their emotions." Luke finished for him. The man did have a point. Luke may be alive physically.

But emotionally and mentally he was a wreck.

"I guess when you put it that way." Luke continued after a minute. They sat in silence as Teodoro filled up their cups.

"So what will you do now?" The mayor asked him. Luke looked at him for a second and then looked down.

"I don't know." Luke admitted. "I want to go find them, to prove that I'm different than I was before."

"But at the same time. I don't want to see them, I don't want their forgiveness. Hell, I think they're terrible people."

"I just wanna...I just wanna stop fighting." Luke said as he dropped into a slouch. The elder man looked at the boy sadly, but an idea came to mind.

"The new school year is approaching." Teodoro said, getting Luke's attention. "If you want I could set you up to go to Daath's school."

"You could?" Luke asked kind of confused.

"We have people that would rather leave than become watchers'." He replied. "I handle the finances and such, so it wouldn't be too much trouble."

Luke stared wide eyed at the man, not believing what he was hearing.

'A chance to go to school?' He thought. 'A chance to start again?'

"Is there anything I would have to do?" Luke asked. He wasn't sure but there was usually a catch for these things.

"You would have to pass the entrance exams." Teodoro replied. "But that shouldn't be to hard." Luke grimaced at the thought of a test, although he studied at the manor he wasn't sure if he had the right knowledge to pass.

"You would have three weeks." Teodoro told him. "If you have any questions I can get you some textbooks to study from."

Luke's eyes lit up at the prospect. While studying seemed like a pain, if it gave him a chance to start again he'd do anything.

"Alright." Luke replied. He wasn't going to waste this chance the older man was offering. It was something he always wanted yet could never obtain.

The chance to be normal.

"Well, that settles it then." Teodoro said as he stood up. "I'll get you the books tomorrow. It's almost midnight, we should both get some sleep.'

"Sounds good." Luke replied. "Uhh where will I sleep?"

"In Tear's room, like before." The balding man replied.

"I've been in Tear's room this entire time?" Luke exclaimed as his face heated up.

He couldn't deny that Tear was an attractive girl. And the thought of said attractive girl on her bed was enough to make the red headed male feel a bit bothered under the collar.

"Is there a problem?" Teodoro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No no, there is no problem." Luke said as he scratched the back of his head. "Just took me by surprise is all."

"If you say so." The man replied, slightly suspicious. He turned to walk to his room when Luke called out.

"Wait." Luke nearly shouted. "Why are you doing this for me?"

The man stopped for a minute before turning around and giving Luke a smile.

"I suppose that raising Tear and Van gave me a bit of parental instinct." He replied. "Seeing you like that made the instinct comeback."

"I see." Luke replied, not sure he entirely understood. "Well… Thanks."

"You're welcome." Was the response as the man walked into his room.

Luke walked up the stairs and into Tear's room. Without pulling off his clothes he threw himself on to the mattress.

'A new chance.' Luke thought as he stared at the ceiling. 'A chance to truly make it on my own.'

'The first thing I need to do is pass that exam.' He told himself. 'Then I'll become the best.'

'I won't let myself be unaware again.' He turned onto his side and curled up a little bit.

'I'll learn everything I have to, need to and just plain want too.' He thought as he closed his eyes.

'No more using a lack of knowledge as an excuse to hide my failures.' He felt his mind start to drift into unconscious.

'No more relying on others.'

 **And finished.**

 **So this is the first chapter of Painless (Name can change if someone gives me a better idea.)**

 **So I'm going to need Ideas for characters. (Both persona users and social links) So If you want to PM me Ideas then cool.**

 **Also for those of you that think Luke was to smart in this chapter. Remember he has had a lot of time to think what's gone on in his life, so he would figure some things out.**

 **And finally the Persona's will be making an appearance in one of the next two chapters**

 **Also the year is kind of different from ours.**

 **To make it short.**

 **There are seven days in a week.**

 **58 days in a month (Except Lorelei Redecan which has 60)**

 **And 765 days in a year.**

 **Any other info can be found on the Aldurant page on the tales wiki.**

 **So I'm thinking of making the school year have something like a week off in the middle of every month.**

 **Also If you think about it. By our terms Everyone is at least double their original ages in TotA.**

 **Weird, right?**

 **So review and tell me If I should continue.**

 **Later.**

 **Sidenote: The trivia question that was in the samples answer is M.A.S.H.**

 **A good show if you like a lot of both light and dark humour.**


	2. Contract

**Fatal-fame here with a new chapter of Painless (name still subject to change).**

 **Fatal-fame does not own Tales of the Abyss, Persona 3 or any other copyrighted material mentioned in this fic. This is for entertainment purposes only, not for profit.**

 **Oh and since travel time is not really explained, other than it taking at most ten days to get to Akzeriuth from Sheridan port, which was partly because they needed to get to the port from Sheridan itself. So I assume that traveling to Belkend by boat from where Akzeriuth was would take the same amount of time. With the wartime scene where you have to make camp every some odd distance. This means that, if my calculations are correct, Asch and the group would not make it in a day. So odds are they made it at early evening/night the day after they left the ship. So they spent the night in the inn before going to the lab. That's when Luke was cut off from Asch.**

 **That's why he doesn't know that St. Binahs falling.**

 **Also turns out I was wrong about the TotA calendar. I did the math and there is 756 days in the year and no such thing as Lorelei redecan, it's just Lorelei decan.**

 **Someone should fix the wiki about that.**

 **So without further delay.**

Painless

Ch. 2 Contract.

Luke woke up on the last day of his three week study session. Tomorrow he would leave Yulia city and get into Daath High school.

He knew he wouldn't ace the exam, but he was certain that he would do fairly well.

'With all of the studying I've been doing, I'll be surprised if I don't get into at least the top quarter.' The redhead thought as he grabbed his clothes. 'It was nice of Layla to get me stuff that wasn't like the robes that people wear down here. But since people leave this place, I guess it would make sense that there would be clothing like this.'

It still surprised him how much effort he actually put into studying. When he was at the manor, studying was the biggest pain to deal with, right next to "Remembering" the promise to Natalia.

'I guess it's because I could study at my own pace, instead of having all of the knowledged crammed down my throat.' He chuckled humorlessly. 'Not that I actually remember any of it.'

Although most of his time was spent in solitude every second day he usually spent an hour with either the mayor Teodoro or Layla.

They mostly just talked about how he was faring and offering a hand when he didn't understand the material. But sometimes when Luke got stuck and frustrated they allowed him to rant for a while.

'It's nice to have people who support me.' Luke thought as he put on his shoes and went down the stairs. 'Well, I did have people who supported me back at the manor, but they wanted my memories more than me.'

Luke let out a sigh as he walked off the final step onto the first floor. His thoughts did head back to the manor frequently, but as more time passed the more he felt he understood.

'Guy was supportive of me the most in terms of being who I am. Natalia was supportive of me getting "My" memories back. Van supported whatever I wanted, whether it was good for me or not. Lady Fabre supported me being safe. Duke Fabre wanted to not support me. And king Ingobert wanted me dead.' Luke let out another sigh as he started to make himself breakfast. He was no master chief, but his skills had improved somewhat.

'Alright so at nine I leave for Daath, I should get there around eight, get to the place I'm staying at nine and hit the hay by ten.' He mentally went over his plan. It may have been simplistic, but it gave him an outline on what should happen.

'Hopefully nothing happens on the way.' Luke thought as he finished cooking his bacon and eggs. 'But, knowing my luck, odds are I'm gonna have fight for my life.' He laughed a little bit. While mostly studying, he still trained with his sword. But it was more just going through the motions then actual training.

'Just because I don't wanna fight, doesn't mean I won't have too.' He thought. He wanted to be able to defend himself if necessary, but he didn't want to fight for the sake of fighting.

'Oh well, I just have to get to Daath and I won't need to fight as long as I'm in school.' Luke thought as he brought another fork full of eggs to his mouth. The redhead quickly finished up and went back up the stairs. He began to check his bags to make sure he had left nothing behind.

'Okay I got everything.' He thought as he sat on the bed. He had two bags, one for his clothing and one for his other supplies. He had half an hour before he was supposed to set out. So he might as well go over what he knew.

As time had progressed, he figured that his strongest subject was math, while his weakest was history.

He found math simple because it didn't lie to him. It tried to confuse him, but there was always a set of rules that had little to no exception.

History was about a bunch of dates and times that could easily be confused with each other.

He knew it was important, but it didn't make it easier.

Luke looked up from the history book he was reading and noticed he had ten minutes before he was supposed to leave. He put the book back in his bag and threw both of them over his shoulders. He made his way back down stairs and out the door.

With a quick right turn followed by another right turn, he was inside the main building.

It still amazed him everytime he walked around the city. The material and unique construction had sparked his interest, so he had asked Layla about them. She had told him how there weren't sure about the exact origins, but apparently it was cutting edge technology for the time. The knowledge was lost, so all they could do was simple repairs. Still it made Luke think.

'If someone were to figure out how to recreate this stuff, we may just be able to stop the miasma from becoming a truly serious problem.'

Sure if the miasma popped up in small pockets, it could be contained. But if it managed to escape in large quantities…

He'd fear for the world.

But as long as that didn't happen, he was fairly certain the world would survive.

Still, wasn't a problem now.

He walked up the ramps and into the meeting room. Teodoro had instructed him that every person who was leaving should meet in there to make sure everything was ready.

He walked in and took a seat, placing his bags to the side as he sat down. Luke looked around the room and took in it occupants.

To his left was the only female of the group. She looked about sixteen-seventeen and was just a bit shorter than him. The one across from him looked just as old as Luke, while the guy to his right looked younger.

"Now." Teodoro said, getting Luke's attention. "You have gathered here because you seek life outside of the qliphoth. There is nothing wrong with this request and with my power I saw that it was granted."

"You will all head through Aramis Springs, when you arrive an armed escort will be there to help you through. Once outside of the cave you will be taken by coach to Daath."

"It will be a long journey, but it should be relatively uneventful. When you get to Daath someone will be there to guide you to where you will be staying. Any questions?" He finished. When no one replied he nodded and stood up.

"This will be your first steps into the outerlands, but if you feel the need you are always welcome here." He said as he moved his head to look at all of them directly.

Luke knew that the elder man was trying to give him somewhere to go if needed it. The redhead was happy that the man had offered him a place to stay. But he knew that Yulia City would never be his home.

Besides even if he decided to come back, he wasn't sure he could trust Teodoro.

Or anyone for that manner.

Luke kept himself from sighing as he walked to the room that contained the Yulia Road. It wasn't their fault, it was just that Luke didn't want to let anyone else in.

He had been there, done that and nearly got himself killed for it.

So he wasn't going to trust anyone.

After all people only cared about how they can use each other.

It was a sad truth that Luke had figured out during his stay. Everyone he knew just wanted something from him and then proceeded to cast him to the side.

Granted, some of it was his fault by being an arrogant jerk. But they couldn't claim they were saints in either.

Except for Ion, the kid was so kind he could make a serial killer feel sorry for his deeds.

Even though he opened the daathic seal, he didn't really have that much to do with what happened.

Even if he had said no, Luke knew he and Van would most likely have forced him to open it.

Still, Ion was the fon master, Luke might actually see him again.

He often wondered how Ion was doing, because usually when they get separated Ion gets kidnapped.

'Someone needs to put a leash on that kid.' Luke thought with a small smile. 'It might stop him from getting taken all the time.'

The other person, or thing rather, that he missed was Mieu.

The little blue beast, loyal to him and only him. It still shocked him about how much Mieu fought against being taken from him.

'Little guy still wanted to be with me, even after all I did to him.' Luke felt the smile get a little bigger. 'He was damn crazy about fulfilling that debt.'

He didn't really understand why he had saved the little guy until well after the cheagle forest.

Sure Luke kicked him and stomped on him, but he didn't cause actual injuries to the thing.

If he had, he would have felt terrible.

It could be likened to him and Tear destroying the liger eggs.

They were just children, they weren't even children.

Yet they were killed.

And Tear excused it by saying it was for the best, because liger babies crave human flesh.

It still sickened him slightly.

Just because they wanted human flesh didn't mean they would get it. It's not like the eggs would just hatch and then they become full grown ligers that could easily kill a grown man. They would be small and relatively harmless if people just stayed away. There was also like five or six eggs. Not a really dangerous group of monsters if one knew what he was doing.

Even if they did crave humans Arietta was raised by the damn things.

If that didn't show something about that statement was wrong, he would eat his shoes.

'Still the little guy had a point, he would understand how I felt about Akzeriuth. Maybe not exactly, but it would be close.' Luke thought as his smile grew a little smaller. He wasn't sure how Mieu was fairing, but he assumed the others were taking care of him.

'Still, I would know this if I was still connected to Asch.' And that confused the hell out of him. He thought that Asch would have immediately tried to put him back under, or at least tried to do the whole headache communication thing.

But for the entire time he was in Yulia City, Asch didn't try to communicate with him. Well, he didn't know if any attempts were made.

'There could be something blocking the connection I guess.' His mind went back to that night, when that thing came and how it nearly...

Luke suppressed a shudder and focused on Teodoro.

"Now I will say the incantation that will send you to the outerlands." The man explained. "Are you all prepared?" He asked. When they all nodded he began the incantation. When the final words left his lips the fonic glyph started to glow. A few seconds afterwards the room filled with light and the younger group vanished.

The Mayor stood there for a few seconds, simply staring at the glyph. He then turned around and walked out of the room.

Wondering if he did the right thing.

 **Aramis springs, inner clearing**

(Just so everyone is aware, I'm not completely sure what the name for the place the Yulia Road is in. So if someone can tell me the term for it, be appreciated.)

A flash of light filled the clearing for a second before dying down. Where the flash had originated was now four teens standing in a small pool.

"Whoa." The eldest male yelped as he jumped out of the pool, with the rest quickly following suit. Luke then noticed that his clothes were dry.

'Huh, so that's what Teodoro meant when he said it pushes the water out of the way.' Luke thought. The day before Luke had asked Teodoro what he should expect when he left.

"Well, you will first arrive in a clearing from a water spring, then you shall go through a cave filled with water. It has a few monsters, but nothing your escort can't handle." The elder man explained.

"Water spout?" Luke said, confusion on his face.

"It's to help hide Yulia City from the outerlands." The man answered. "People would be suspicious if a fonic glyph was in the middle of a clearing for no reason."

'Makes sense.' Luke thought as their guard asked them if they were the people to be escorted. 'Nobody would think a fonic glyph would be under the water here.'

"Excuse me." One of the guards, who he assumed was the leader, got his attention. "What's your name?"

"Luke." He answered with a shrug.

"Luke..?" The man trailed off. Luke knew this would be the first time he would truly use the name he came up with.

He didn't want to go as Luke Fon Fabre, as he felt he would get sent back to Baticul.

And that he might not survive if he went there.

So he came up with an alias, to hopefully deter any pursuers he might have.

But he kept the name Luke, because there were a lot of people named Luke.

If what he has heard was true, of course.

"Arikami."

He wasn't sure when he came up with the unique name. All he knew was that he was reading as he tried to think of one and it suddenly came to him.

Besides, it sounded cool.

"Right." The man said as he used his pencil to make a check on a piece of paper he was holding.

"Now we will proceed in a square formation, with you all in the middle. Is that acceptable?" The man asked. To which the group nodded. They then proceeded into the cave. The knights in front fought the monsters that got in the way as the ones behind them went to help only if it was necessary.

Luke found himself flinching slightly as the fighting continued. One of the responses that was drilled into him by his travels was to prepare to draw his sword at a moment's notice. To defend himself from monsters or people.

Now he was supposed to stand back and watch.

However the difference between the first time something like this happened was that the people he was with knew he could fight.

These people didn't.

But, even if he wanted to help, there was a slight problem.

He had no sword.

He had spent the day before training incase something happened.

Since he was training in the garden behind where he was staying, he didn't take his sword out of there since he had no need for it.

So when Layla had asked him to come inside so they could talk about any last minute questions he had, he had forgotten to retrieve it before he went to sleep.

So when he left Yulia City, he left his sword behind.

'Not smart, Luke.' He scolded himself. 'Not smart.' He could probably go back and get it. But he didn't feel the need, since the knights had everything under control.

'Yep, no fighting till I'm done school.' He told himself. He wouldn't venture out without an escort if he was going to leave Daath, it was just something that didn't seem like a good idea.

The group walked through the moist caverns as the trek continued. They had to travel on the outside of the cave for a for a moment, which Luke used to take a breath of fresh air.

'Nothing beats non miasma polluted air.' He decided as it filled his lungs. He exhaled happily as the others in the group stared at him with interest.

"Now I remember." The girl said as she snapped her fingers, causing the groups attention to come to her. "You were with the group from the Outerlands."

This caused Luke to stop for a second in surprise, but he managed to keep his face neutral.

"Yeah, I was." He answered, hoping for it to be the end of the questions.

"Why didn't you go with them then?" The eldest boy asked as they started to walk again.

"Personal conflict." Luke replied with a shrug.

"Ah." The girl replied as they entered the cave again. They continued in silence as the knights continued to kill the monsters. After an hour they had finally made it out of the cave.

"The carriage should be just down the hill from here." The leader explained as he pointed out of the forest. "Once there it will be straight to Daath." Since they had already heard this before. the teens just nodded.

"Alright let's carry on then." The man announced as they started to walk again.

Half an hour later they had found and got inside the coach. The knights had then told them they would be parting there as they were needed at the port. With a good bye the knights left, the horses were then spurned and the journey continued.

Nobody noticed the blond man entering the cave they left twenty minutes beforehand.

The ride was as quiet as the walk through the cave, only without the sounds of monsters being sliced to pieces. The other two males had nodded off, leaving only Luke and the girl alone.

"Hey, Luke." She called out quietly, turning the replica's attention away from the window. "What personal conflict stopped you from going with them?"

Luke tilted his head away from her to look back out the window. He wanted to answer in a way that couldn't be taken as a lie.

"I...wanted to face myself." He replied after a bit of thought. She looked at him confused, causing him to explain further.

"I wanted to figure out who the real me was, not some facade I used to deal with people."He explained. "So they left me to figure it out."

He wasn't sure why he had used those exact words and, to be honest, it bothered him slightly.

"I see." The girl said. They were quiet for a few seconds before she held out her hand.

"I'm Miko Hagashi." The newly named Miko said. Luke looked down at the hand in front of him and lightly grabbed it. He then took the time to study the girl. As he noted before she was slightly shorter than him, with hazel eyes, dark brown hair and a dainty figure.

"Luke Arikami." He replied as he shook it and turned back to the window.

"Did you find yourself?" She asked a couple seconds later. Luke shrugged in return.

"Hell if I know."

The journey continued like that, Miko would ask a question, Luke would answer and there would be silence for a little while.

A few hours later they had to make an unexpected stop.

They were heading up the Daath monument hill when one of the wheels came loose and fell off.

This was unfortunate as it caused the carriage to fall forward, the strain added by the sudden force caused the reigns holding the horses to snap. this wouldn't have been to bad, but the wooden beams holding the horses in place also snapped. The horses, startled by the noise, quickly started to gallop away from the carriage.

The occupants of the carriage were trying to untangle themselves from each other.

"Ahh that hurt." The eldest mumbled out as he got up.

"No shit." Said the other as he pulled himself off the ground.

Luke got on his feet and pulled Miko up as well.

"Thanks." She said with a smile.

"Don't mention it." He replied with a shrug. They all quickly got out of the carriage and looked at the coachman, who was inspecting the damages.

"I can't fix this by myself." The man said as he noticed them. "And since the horses ran away, we're not going anywhere."

"Damn." The eldest one swore. "How long will it take to get this repaired?"

"Since I can't do it alone, It just be better to head to Daath and I'll come back tomorrow to fix it." The coachman replied.

"I guess we're walking then." The other boy said. With that they gathered their stuff from the top of the coach and were about to hit the road.

"We may encounter monsters." The coachman told them. "Do any of you know how to fight?" Miko immediately nodded as she opened a large package that she was carrying. When she took the brown paper off she held a battle staff.

'It's one more for hitting then fonic artes.' Luke noticed as he looked at it. It was a large white rod with golden orbs at either end.

"Anyone else?" He asked, Luke shrugged 'Eh, what the hell.'

"I know how to use a sword." Luke said to the man, who nodded and grabbed two swords.

"I usually keep one as a spare, but circumstances change." Luke nodded as he took one from the man. It was a simple double edged sword that was as a bit shorter than his cutlass. He gave it a practise swing to get a feel for it. It was lighter than his cutlass, but nothing he couldn't work around.

"Hopefully we won't have too much trouble, but just in case." The coachman said as he pulled out a white bottle. "I have a couple of these with me, they should ward off most monster."

With that he opened the bottle.

"These things vary in how long they ward off monsters, we should move fast."

The rest just nodded and began walking.

 **Daath, late night.**

It was thirty minutes to midnight when they had finally made it to the gates of Daath. They were panting from exhaustion as they walked into the huge city.

"Well, we made it." The coach man said as he regained his breath. "I'll show you the way to the dorms." The teens just nodded their consent and began to follow him.

It took them twenty five minutes to get to where the student housing was.

"Now you two." He pointed at Miko and Luke "Will be staying in that building for now." He pointed to the tallest housing building. "While you two." He pointed at the other boys. "Will be staying over there." He pointed to a smaller yet longer building.

Too tired to argue, they just nodded and walked to their pointed destinations.

Luke and Miko walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened and Miko walked in. Luke was about to follow her, when something made him stop.

The clock had struck midnight.

Luke looked around to see everything had a green tint to it, there was blood stains everywhere and everywhere he looked there was at least one coffin in his line of sight.

'What the hell?' He thought as he stared in shock. He shook his head and walked into the dorm, thinking it was just a hallucination.

Although dark, the green light provided enough light for him to see inside. He could make out a couch and table with a chair side it. Luke noticed a letter on the table.

Mr. Arikami and Miss Hagashi.

In case we are not awake due to circumstances. We would like to welcome you to the dorm.

On this letter you will find keys for your individual rooms.

Mr. Arikami's is on the right, while Miss Hagashi's is on the left.

We hope to see you tomorrow.

Annabelle Magus.

Luke put the letter down and started to look for his key.

'I don't see anything.' Luke thought as he searched the table. He was about to give up when a hand held a key out to him.

"Oh, thanks." Luke said as he looked at the owner of the arm.

It was a young boy with dark orange hair and green eyes that seemed to get brighter as they went up.

"No problem." The boy replied as the key was taken out of his hand.

"I guess I'll go to my room now." Luke said after a moment of silence. The boy held up a hand to stop him.

"Would you sign this first?" The boy asked as he laid a piece of paper on the table. Luke looked it over and was a bit surprised.

Normally when someone wants to sign something it had words all over it. But this just had one sentance.

The path that I choose is one of my own will.

Luke looked over at the boy, who smiled softly.

'In simplest terms, I guess it wants me to take responsibility for my actions.' Luke already planned on doing that, but a reminder never hurt.

With a pen the boy handed to him. He quickly signed his name and handed it to the boy.

"Keep it." The boy replied. "It will help your with your journey."

"Journey?" Luke asked. only to blink as the kid disappeared.

Luke stood there, staring into the spot the child was in, He shook his head and made his way upstairs.

Looking at the key he had, he determined his room was 3-5. He quickly made his way up the stairs and on to his floor.

He walked down to the end of the hallway and opened the door to his right. He immediately threw his bags aside and jumped onto the bed, after setting the alarm clock for 7:30. His eyes closed.

He opened them again when a blue light seemed to shine into them.

The first thing he saw was that the room was that it was a very dark blue.

The next thing he noticed was the man with an abnormally large nose smiling at him.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

 **And finished.**

 **So that's it, the end of this chapter.**

 **So review and tell me what you think.**

 **I'm also looking for OC ideas and someone to bounce my ideas off of.**

 **PM me if you have an OC or want to help me.**


	3. Persona

**Fatal-fame here with a new chapter of Painless.**

 **To answer cra0007 the reason I don't want to use persona 3 characters is because we already know what their stories are. It takes the fun out of it if you already know that so and so hates their parents.**

 **So I want to try to create other scenarios, to keep it interesting.**

 **So yeah Pm me ideas for characters.**

 **Fatal-fame does not own Tales of The Abyss or Persona, this is for entertainment purposes only, not for profit.**

 **So onwards to**

Painless

Ch. 3 Persona

Luke stared at the man across from him, confusion written on his face.

"Velvet room?" Luke repeated as he started to look around. He noticed that the man had a young girl next to him, wearing something kinda like the dress Natalia was wearing.

Only dark blue.

In her white hair was a clip that held back her bangs, shaped like a v.

Luke then looked out the window and noticed they seemed to be suspended in midair.

'Am I on a cable car?' Luke asked himself. The only place he had seen the type of transportation was when he was in Baticul.

And if the motion was anything to go by, they were heading up.

"My name is Igor." The man across from him said, getting his attention. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance." He gestured to the woman by his side.

"This is Bethany." He introduced. "We are residents here."

"Nice to meet you." Bethany said as she bowed her head slightly towards him, her yellow eyes closing for a second as she did.

"...Nice to meet you too?" Luke replied unsure.

'Am I supposed to be polite to kidnappers?' Luke asked himself. He supposed as long as they didn't try to harm him he would play along.

"This place exists between dream and reality," Igor explained ",mind and matter..."

'Maybe I hit my head when I fell asleep?' Luke thought as he nodded at the man.

"It has been quite some time since we have had a guest." Igor continued. Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

'Huh, I wonder why?' Luke thought sarcastically. 'Maybe it's because this is, I don't know, crazy beyond all reason.' The sound of paper fluttering woke him from his thoughts.

"Only those who sign the contract may enter this place." Igor explained as the contract Luke signed appeared on the table between them.

'Ah, I get it now." Luke realized. 'I signed a one sentence contract like an idiot, now I get to hallucinate about a blue room. Nice going, Luke.'

"Henceforth, you shall be allowed to enter the Velvet room and use it's services as you please."

"Uhh thanks?" The redhead was sure he didn't want to use any services these people offered, just a feeling in the back of his mind that told him that this man was not to be trusted.

"You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so."

That cemented the feeling that the man should not be trusted. Last time someone said they would help him control his power a lot of people died.

"My only request is that you take responsibilities for your actions, as the contract you signed asks you too." Igor finished.

"Uhh, yeah no." Luke replied after some thought. He reached over and pushed the contract back towards the man, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"Pardon?" The man asked in reply, with the girl frowning at the interaction.

"I said no." Luke repeated. "I do not wish for your help, nor do I wish to be here in the first place."

"Is that so?" Igor asked in return. "May I ask why?"

"Last time someone said they wanted to help me with my abilities, ten thousand people died." Luke replied dryly. "Now I'm sitting in a cable car, suspended in the middle of nowhere, with a guy who's telling me I need his help to perfect my abilities. Forgive me for not being out of my mind."

"I suppose this does seem fairly surreal." Igor admitted. "However I mean you no harm, I only wish to help."

"The other man said that too." Luke replied. "My answer is the same, please allow me to leave."

"If that is how you feel." Igor said as he snapped his fingers. A blue light flashed for a moment and vanished just as fast. In place of the light was a golden key.

"In case you change your mind." Igor told him as the key floated towards Luke. The moment Luke's hand wrapped around it another blue flash appeared. When it vanished Luke was gone.

"Interesting." Igor said out loud, causing his assistant to look at him.

"What is?"

"This is the first time I've had a guest that is reluctant to accept my help." Igor explained. "This will prove to be quite entertaining."

Dorms, Luke's room.

Luke's eyes opened as light poured through the window and the alarm blared. He sat himself up and rubbed his eyes.

"The hell was that about?" Luke asked himself.

'It was probably just a dream, just like earlier.' Luke told himself as he hit the off button on the alarm.

The annoying voice in the back of his mind begged to differ.

But Luke just ignored it as he got his clothes ready. He slipped on the school uniform and prepared to walk out, but halted as he grabbed the doorknob.

"Almost forgot my key." Luke told himself. He turned to the night table he had put it on the night before. Only to stop in shock.

On the table was his room key, but next to it was the key he had gotten in his dream.

Luke stared at the golden key that lied there, unable to comprehend it.

'That's impossible. It was a dream, wasn't it?' Luke asked himself, as he approached it. He picked it up carefully, as if it would attack him if he miss handled it.

'It's real.' The replica thought as he moved it around in his hand. On both sides of the handle there was a mask, which popped up a question.

'Why a mask?' Was the first thought that entered his mind. Before he could examine it further there was a knock on the door.

"Hello, is anyone there?" An elegant female voice asked through the wood. Luke quickly put the key into his pocket and answered.

"Uh yeah, give me a second." The redhead replied as he grabbed the other key. He quickly walked to the door and opened it.

On the other side of the door frame was a female with blond hair, some shades darker than Natalia's, that was braided past her shoulder. She was wearing white shirt and a black skirt, which he assumed was the uniform for the girls, completed with high heel shoes.

"You found your room okay?" She asked him, as her brown eyes stared into his. He noted that she was almost on eye level with him.

Probably because of the heels.

"Uh, yeah, there was no problem." Luke replied as he got his bearings.

"You seem hesitant." She remarked.

"Oh, it was a bit of trouble going around in the dark, but there was no other problem." Luke scratched the back of his head as he looked away.

"I see." The blonde replied. "In anycase, I am Annabelle Magus." She held out her hand to him. Luke took it into his own and gave it a shake.

"Luke Arikami." He replied as he pulled his hand away.

"I came to make sure you were prepared for today and to show you to the school." She explained to him. Luke nodded his consent.

"Hagashi is waiting down stairs." She told him. "We have an hour and a half before you need to arrive. You should get some breakfast."

"Alright." Luke agreed. They went down the hallway and down the stairs in silence. When they got to the main floor, Luke noticed Miko was sitting at a larger table he didn't notice before.

"Morning." The girl grumbled out as she noticed them. Annabelle raised an eyebrow at her.

"Not a morning person?" The blonde asked. To which the girl mumbled something in return.

"I'll take that as a yes." The older girl replied as she sat down across from her. Luke sat next to Miko after grabbing an apple and looked towards the elder student.

"In about an hour and a half you will need to be at Daath high for testing. So we shall leave in an hour." Annabelle told them.

"Why an hour?" Miko asked as she looked up from her plate.

"So I can give you a tour before your exams." The blonde told them, to which they both nodded.

"Now, is there any questions you have before we go?"

"Will these arrangements be permanent?" Miko asked as she seemed to wake up a bit.

"Only if you want it to be." Annabelle replied. "If you wish, you can transfer to another dorm." Miko nodded at this.

"Anything else?" The older girl asked. Luke thought for a moment and decided to ask.

"Who else is living here?" The redhead asked, causing Annabelle to turn to him.

"There's Eric, a third year and the chairman."

"Chairman?" Luke's face looked confused.

"A teacher who makes sure our needs are meet." Luke nodded his understanding.

"What's his name?" Miko asked.

"Chairman." Annabelle answered.

"I know his job, but what's his name?"

"Chairman."

Miko looked like she was about to ask again, but Luke put his hand on her shoulder.

"I think that Chairman is literally his name." Luke explained. Miko looked at him for a second before realization set in.

"Oh, I get it." She smiled at him.

'I'm not sure about that.' Luke thought as he turned back to their senior.

"We should get going." The blonde told them as she glanced at the clock. The two younger students got up and followed her out the door.

It took twenty minutes to get to the school building.

'Not as impressive as I thought.' Luke thought as he stared up at the building. From what he could tell it was two stories and shaped kind of like an F.

"Welcome to Daath High, or DH for short." Annabelle pulled him from his thoughts. She opened the door and the three walked in.

The main hall had two corridors that went to the right, while at the far side was a small counter for school supplies and food. A stairway also leading right was the way to get to the second floor, which also had two hallways.

"Your classroom is up here." Annabelle explained as they walked up the stairs. They walked into the first hallway and past a few doors. They stopped at the third door to their right.

"This is where you'll be taking your exams." The blonde explained. "There are no other people joining your year, so you will have the room to yourselves."

"Cool." Luke said as he entered the room and sat at a desk in the middle. Miko followed in right behind him and took a seat near the front.

He looked back towards the door, were Annabelle had walked off.

'Not much of a tour.' He thought with a frown.

Luke took in a breath as a large man carrying a bunch of papers walked into the room.

"I'm Mr. Harrison. You're here to take your exams, When you're finished one exam you may have up to thirty minutes to prepare for the next one. Any questions?" Harrison said as he gazed at them, making Miko squirm a little bit as Luke stared at the guy.

'Here's hoping I'm not in this guy's class.' Luke thought as he crossed his fingers under the desk. The man placed papers on both of the students desks and sat down at the front of the room.

"You may now begin."

Seven excruciating hours later and Luke and Miko stumbled out of the room.

"That was intense." Miko said as she leaned onto the wall for support.

"No kidding." Luke replied as they both made their way out of the building. Using each other as supports they made their way back to the dorm. When they got there Luke fished out his key and unlocked the door.

They both walked inside and immediately fell onto the couch, while Luke fell onto the chair.

"That was brutal." Miko sighed out from her spot. Luke just grunted his agreement.

"So, how'd you think you did?" She asked after several minutes of silence. Luke barley turned his head to her as he tried to work up the energy to respond.

"Fairly well." The redhead answered. "How'd you do?" He asked, more out of politeness than anything.

"I think I passed." She told him as she let herself fall sideways. Her hair covering her face as she hit the cushions.

"Well, aren't you youngsters energetic." A cheerful voice said from the stairs. They both turned their heads towards a man wearing a grey suit.

"I take it you're the new arrivals?" The man asked as he approached the teens, who both let out a groan in response.

"Very articulate." The man replied as he took a seat on the chair opposite from Luke.

"You may have guessed this, but in case you haven't, I am Chairman." The man introduced himself.

"Luke Arikami." Luke replied as his body fought to stay awake. Taking in the man's grey hair and eyes.

"Miko Higashi." The brunette told him after she moved some hair from her face.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, I should tell you that dinner is at five thirty." The elder man let them know. "Are there any problems that you two are having or anything you may want to know?"

"When will we get our results?" Luke asked before he could forget. Chairman reached up and stroked his chin for a second.

"They should be here by tomorrow, if not then the day after." He answered to which he received a nod from both Luke and Miko.

"If that's all I should be going." He got up and walked to the door. "Tata."

The two teens sat in silence for a moment.

"He seems nice." Miko commented.

"...He does." Luke replied, trying to forget that the man reminded him of the Colonel.

Five thirty came around and Luke and Miko we sitting at the table. They were joined by Chairman, Annabelle and an older student.

"Ah, so you're the new guys in the dorm." The older student said as he sat down.

"That makes you Eric, then." Luke replied as he took in the his appearance. The guy had short, sandy coloured hair, teal eyes and a vibe that said you could trust him.

Luke didn't like him.

"Right in one." Eric said as he helped himself to the food in front of him. The others soon followed his lead and the food was quickly demolished.

"Well,that was good." Miko said as she leaned back in her chair.

"After years of watching over this place, my skills should be up to par." Chairman joked with a smile.

'Yep, too much like Jade.' Luke thought as he got up and excused himself. He quickly washed his plate and went to his room, followed by Miko a few minutes later.

"What do you think?" Chairman asked the two students.

"They both have the potential." Annabelle commented as she brushed some hair away from her eyes.

"But will they fight?" Eric asked, not really aimed at anyone specific.

"That's their own choice." Chairman answered.

Once Luke was inside his room, he sat down at the desk he didn't notice last night.

'First impressions, these people are going to suck.' Luke thought as he cupped his chin and leaned on his elbows.

He had hoped he could at least like the people he was living with, but that idea went down the drain when he first conversed with them.

Miko was just too scatterbrained for his taste.

Annabelle reminded him of nobility and caused him to remember things he'd rather forget.

Chairman reminded him of Jade. No comment.

And Eric seemed like the guy who couldn't see the bad in anything. Luke didn't need any idealist crap when he had been through his own ordeals.

'Maybe I'm judging them to harshly.' Luke thought as he turned his head to look out the window. 'Today is the day I met them, I need to give them a chance before making any judgments.'

'I got some time before I need to sleep, I should study.' Luke nodded to himself as he got his books out.

It was ten o'clock when Luke decided to go to bed.

It was at twelve he was woken up.

Luke sat up as his vision started to unblur. When he could see properly he looked at a person sitting on his bed.

"Hello." The boy who gave him the contract said from his spot on Luke's bed. Luke gave the kid a wary eye and started to reach for the sword he got from the coach man.

"Tonight's the full moon." The boy said as he looked out the window. "Are you ready to start your journey?"

"Wha?" Was Luke's reply. Luke opened his mouth to ask what the kid ment, but was stopped as the building shook.

Luke quickly grabbed onto the bedpost to steady himself. When the shaking stopped he looked up to see the kid was gone.

"What the hell?" Luke asked himself as he got out of bed. He quickly threw on his clothes and grabbed the sword. He hurried down the stairs and onto the main floor. When he got to the second floor Miko ran up to him.

"What's going on?" She quickly asked him. Luke shrugged as he continued down, with Miko right behind him.

When they got to the main floor they heard a crash. They shared a look and nodded to each other. They proceed carefully, weapons raised.

When they were halfway across the lounge a window exploded inwards. They covered themselves with their arms as the glass rained down at them. When it was over Luke pulled his arms down. He gave the room a quick glance to see the extent of the damages.

The broken window and shards of glass that were scattered all over the place didn't really faze him.

What did shock him was the giant monster outside.

From what he could tell It was a mass of arms, each one holding a sword.

The face just seemed to be a mask it was holding.

He took a slight step back, only to notice something on his foot.

It looked like one of Legretta's fon tech guns, but with a more cylinder barrel. Without thinking Luke picked it up.

He held it in his hand for a moment, simply staring at it. His pointer finger unwrapping from the handle and finding the trigger.

"What the hell is that!?" Miko shouted as she pointed out the window, Taking Luke away from his thoughts.

"I have no idea." Luke replied as he brought his sword up in front of him.

"You two!" Annabelle's voice came from outside. "Run to the roof, now!"

"What about you!?" Miko screamed back as she held onto her staff.

"We'll be fine." Eric yelled as he brought an axe down on the monster, which jumped back before the blow could connect.

"But…" She tried, but at Annabelle's glare she relented. Grabbing Luke by his shoulder she started to pull him up the stairs. Luke stared back at Annabelle, who was now facing the monster. He watched as she pulled out a gun similar to the one in his hand. His eyes widened in shock as she placed the barrel against her temple.

He was pulled up the stairs and Annabelle left his sight as he heard a shot ring out.

With the sound of glass breaking.

It was a few minutes as they ran up the stairs. When they got to the roof they both panted in exhaustion.

"What the hell is going on?" Miko asked no one in particular. Luke didn't respond because something else caught his attention.

The lack of the sounds of battle below them.

Luke turned to the edge of the roof, hoping beyond hope that his hunch was wrong.

A blue mask popped up over the edge of the roof and destroyed his hopes.

The thing carried itself onto the roof, each of it's blades glinting menacingly.

Miko pulled her staff back into a battle position, ready to fight if needed.

Luke looked down at the gun he was carrying.

He stared at it for a few moments as the memories of what he just saw flashed before his eyes.

His hands started to shake.

"Go on." The kid's voice echoed through his mind.

Luke brought it up to his head.

Miko stared at him in alarm.

His finger wrapped around the trigger.

Her arm shot out to stop him.

His breathing was shallow and erratic.

Her's was caught in her throat.

He started to smile.

Her panic hit it's highest point.

He whispered one word.

"Persona."

He pulled the trigger.

His head shot to the side as glass flew out from the left side of his head.

He started to glow blue as a figure started to appear above him.

All Miko could do was stand by and watch.

Luke just continued to smile as a voice filled his mind.

 _I am thou..._

The figure appeared clearer as the glow started to die down, parts of it just appearing slowly

 _Thou art I_ …

The figure held a sword in one hand and a gun in the other.

 _From the sea of thy soul, I come…_

It was covered in chains, there was a hole in it's stomach and tear streaks were on it's face.

 _I am Daath, the traitor of Yulia…_

And then it flew towards the monster.

Daath immediately struck with it's sword, causing the monster to jump away again. Daath raised it's gun and fired two quick rounds at it, causing slight damage to it.

Luke just stared at it with a smile.

Until his head started to throb.

Luke's hands clenched at his skull as he tried to hold in the pain, his efforts were in vain as he started to scream.

Normally when this happened, it felt like something was trying to get in.

Now it felt like something was trying to get out.

Miko stared at the boy, not sure how to help. She then heard the sound of flesh being ripped and turned to the fighting giants.

Hazel eyes widened as Daath started to spasm.

It's body contorted itself into a painful position. When two arms suddenly shot out from it's neck.

The arms pushed apart the body of Daath, causing it to split in half.

In it's place was another giant. Wielding a sword of it's own, it's face a mask of bone and surrounded by coffins.

It terrified her.

The new beast flew up to the monster and started to ruthlessly tear it apart.

Hands were flying everywhere as the monster was attacked, each one fading moment's after they hit the floor.

With one final hand in its grasp, the beast crushed it into nothing.

Then it disappeared.

Miko started were the beast was before. Her mind not comprehending what she had just seen.

She was taken out of her thoughts as two dark puddles began to form.

They seemed to reach a state between liquid and solid as a blue mask appeared on both.

Miko pulled back her staff as she watched them approach.

Luke picked himself off the floor and walked up beside her. His blade pointed behind him in his usual stance.

"Ready?" He asked her. Which Miko nodded with a shiver.

"Alright then." Luke pointed the gun at his temple.

"DAATH!" he yelled out as he pulled the trigger. His head flew to the side a bit as the sound of broken glass rang out.

The next instant Daath was in front of Luke, bringing it's sword down on one of the creatures.

It stood no chance.

As quickly as it appeared Daath disappeared.

Miko did her best to focus on her opponent, she ran up to it and slammed the end of her staff into it.

It seemed to cause the thing damage, but did not destroy it. Two arms reached out and slashed at her, causing her to take a few steps back for the damage.

Luke quickly shot towards it and raised his sword.

He first struck with a diagonal slash from his shoulder to his hip, followed by a thrust and ended by pulling the blade under his right arm and slashing upwards.

The thing's head shot back each time the blade connected with it, until the final strike ended its life.

Luke let his arms drop to his sides, his breathing now heavy. He gave one last look at Miko to see how she was doing.

When he noticed she was shaken, but still okay, he let himself fall into morpheus' realm.

Velvet room.

Luke's eyes blink for a couple of moments, getting use to the new source of light. When they could see clearly he noted where he was.

'Oh, this place again.' Luke thought bitterly as he looked out the window.

"It's so nice to see you again." Igor said, getting Luke's attention.

'Can't say the same.' Luke thought as he stared at the man.

"You fell unconscious after your "power" awakened." Igor explained.

'Really, I didn't notice.' Luke thought sarcastically.

"It's no cause for alarm, though." Igor said. "So, please relax."

'I'll do that when I'm far away from here.' Luke thought as he wished he had his sword.

"By the way…" Igor paused for a moment. "I have noticed it was Daath who answered your calling."

'Yeah, I knew that.' Luke wasn't sure how he knew that, but he did.

"That is called a Persona…" Igor continued. "It's a manifestation of your psyche."

'Psyche?'

"It may take some time to comprehend it completely." Igor told him. "A persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli…"

'So my personality is a sword and gun wielding thing, with tears running down it's face and a hole in it's stomach?' Luke thought. 'I have way more problems then I thought.'

"Think of it as a mask that protects you from hardships you face." Igor continued.

'I don't recall a time when a giant thing came to help me with my problems.' Luke thought as he raised an eyebrow.

"That being said, your power is still weak..." Igor told him.

'Well if I just awakened it, then of course it would be weak.' Luke thought as he leaned back a bit.

"How so?" Luke asked, mostly to move this along so he could leave

"You must channel inner strength when you use your persona ability." Igor explained. "The ability evolves as you develop social links- the emotional ties you share with others."

Luke just stared back at the man.

"The stronger your ties are with others, the more powerful your persona ability." Igor continued. "It will do you well to remember that."

Luke made no movement to show a reaction.

"Time is still moving in your world." Igor said as he looked out the window. "I shouldn't keep you here any longer."

'Oh thank goodness.' Luke thought as a smile nearly broke out of his face.

"Our next meeting will be when you come yourself." Igor said with a smile. "Until then, farewell."

'The next time we meet will be never then, cause I sure as hell ain't coming here.' Luke thought as his vision darkened.

'And the ties of others will only weaken me.'

 **And finished.**

 **The reason I choose Daath as Luke's persona is because Daath was just that, a traitor to Yulia. While Luke feels he is a traitor to the world.**

 **Daath is a highly physical persona, with slash, pierce and bash attacks.**

 **Also If Luke had an arcana other than fool, it would most likely be the lovers in my opinion. Representing his choice of staying in school, or finding the group.**

 **Also things that confuse me.**

 **The two social link songs in persona are called "Power of the heart." When first created and "The path is open." When you complete it.**

 **I feel that it should be the opposite way around, but that's just me.**

 **So review and tell me what you think.**

 **And Pm me about OC's and persona Ideas.**


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